Burmese Powder Keg

Persecution of the Rohingyas may fuel Islamist radicals.

A new humanitarian catastrophe is looming on the border between Burma and Bangladesh. The United Nations reports that 125,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled violence in Burma, and tens of thousands are believed to be on their way. Persecution of the stateless minority could destabilize the region by fueling Islamist movements.

The Rohingyas (now numbering 1.3 million) have lived in Burma for centuries, but since the 1980s the government has stripped them of citizenship, insisting that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh....